The foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary on Thursday criticized Switzerland for its decision to introduce immigration quotas for eight EU member countries of central and Eastern Europe. The joint statement, adopted on the sidelines of a NATO officials' summit in Brussels, was reportedly initiated by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. The foreign ministers of the four countries said they hoped that Switzerland would reconsider the move.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU but is part of the bloc's Schengen zone of free movement, will cap immigration from eight central and Eastern European countries beginning May 1; the country will annually grant some 2,000 residency permits to Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and citizens of other six post-communist countries.

Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will be meeting with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The two officials are set to discuss the completion of the Temelin nuclear power plant; the US company Westinghouse is one of the bidders in the multi-billon crown tender. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra met with his US counterpart Leon Panetta and signed an agreement giving Czech weapons manufacturers access to US Army tenders.

The leader of the embattled coalition Public Affairs party, Radek John, said on Thursday his party wanted to avoid early elections. The junior coalition party split earlier this week after deputy prime minister Karolina Peake quit Public Affairs along with several MPs and said they would support the government; the rest of the party is now considering joining the opposition in the lower house. However, Mr John gave no direct answer when asked whether the rest of the party would also support the government in a possible vote of no-confidence.

Prime Minister Petr Necas said he would wait until Monday to see whether his government could rely on a "safe majority" in the lower house. If not, Mr Necas, said, the country would head towards a snap election that could take place in June.

The Czech military is involved in the UN observer mission in Syria, Czech Radio said on Thursday quoting Lebanese press reports. The Czech Air Force reportedly provided three transport planes which brought nine vehicles to Beirut that are used by the observers in Syria. The UN observer team entered Syria on Monday where it is monitoring a ceasefire between the government and rebel forces in an attempt to end violence in the country.

A Prague court of appeals on Thursday ruled to reopen the case of businessman Tomas Pitr, cancelling a 2006 verdict which sentenced him to five years in prison for tax fraud. Mr Pitr fled the country after the verdict, and was extradited from Switzerland earlier this month. Tomas Pitr faces charges of tax evasion worth 51 million crowns which he allegedly committed in 1994. The court ruled he should remain in custody pending a new trial.

========================================================================Academy of Sciences head calls for change in evaluation methods ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The head of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Jiri Drahos has asked the government to change its methods of evaluation of scientific work. Speaking at an academic forum in Prague on Thursday, Mr Drahos said the methods, which were introduced in 2009, served to justify a "deliberate, wilful and irresponsible" attempt to eliminate large sections of the Academy of Sciences. The methods serve as a basis for the distribution of government grants. Mr Drahos also criticized efforts to turn academic institutions and universities into "servants" of the private sector.

Prague City Hall has toned down its campaign to attract British "Olympic avoiders" to the Czech capital during the London Summer Olympics, the Czech daily Hospodarske noviny reported on Thursday. The campaign presents Prague as a destination where Londoners can take part in the "Prague games" events such as panoramathon, heavy-weight shopping, kafkarate, free-style kissing and others. However, Prague City Hall decided to drop two motifs - synchronized drinking and morning slalom, alluding to drinking and partying - over the UK's ban of associating alcohol with sports in advertising.

========================================================================Press: number of self-employment licences up ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of self-employment licences reached nearly two million by the end of March, up by over 40,000 compared to the same month last year, the news website tyden.cz reported quoting data from the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry. In 2012, some 11,500 new licences were issued by the authorities. Analyst stay the steady rise in the number of the self-employed is caused by lower tax rates compared to those of employees; also, many Czechs take out self-employment licences as a security provision in case they their jobs but are unlikely to actually start a business.

An elderly couple in the village of Zbyny, some 60 kilometres north of Prague, committed suicide to avoid losing their home, the news website novinky.cz reported on Thursday. Fire fighters who arrived in the early hours of Wednesday to put out the fire discovered the bodies of a 71-year-old woman and her 68-year-old husband along with a dead dog and several gasoline cans; a spokeswoman for the local police said they probably ended their lives to avoid the foreclosure of their home over the debts of their son.

Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 2:6, 6:2, 6:4 in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters event on Thursday, and advanced to the tournament's quaterfinals. Berdych, ranked seventh in the world, dropped two serves to lose the first set but hit back and wrapped up the game in two hours. In the next stage, the 26-year-old Czech will face world number four Andy Murray of the UK.

It was another cold, grey morning for the thousands of commuters who passed through the city's crowded metro stations making their way to work on Wednesday morning. But on this particular day the mood in Prague's busy subway was different. An all-day musical happening put a smile on people's faces and many stopped to listen, even if it meant missing their regular train connection.

This Thursday saw the hosting of a Culture Plus event at Prague's Cernin Palace, co-organised by the Czech Foreign Ministry. On the table was the topic Culture & Diplomacy - namely how culture, including the arts, can be used to promote greater communication and understanding.

On Wednesday night, The Shape of Blue, a painting by abstract artist Frantisek Kupka, sold for 55.75 million crowns at auction - setting a new Czech art auction record. The impressive final sum came as a surprise even to the director of Adolf Loos Aprtment & Gallery, which organized the auction. What significance does this latest record have for the domestic art market, and what makes this work of Kupka's special? We spoke to Jan Skrivanek, the editor-in-chief of art + antiques.

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